


10 Days and 9 Pirates

by rchcc122



Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen, POV Outsider, Rating May Change, Tags May Change, Warnings May Change, hinted at Frobin, newspaper style
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-27
Updated: 2015-05-03
Packaged: 2018-03-26 01:01:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3831355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rchcc122/pseuds/rchcc122
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young reporter is given the chance to cover the story of the century: Infiltrating and exposing the raw truth of the Straw Hat Pirates.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. To Catch a Pirate

            “It’s daring, it’s adventurous, it’s now! I love it! Now go,” the editor sat at his desk, a pen between his index finger and thumb as he looked up into the face of an excited, anxious young brunette. The woman’s eyes widened.

            “Really?! You’ll let me do it?” she couldn’t believe her ears. This story… it would vault her career forward exponentially. She was going to be _the_ investigative reporter of the year… no, decade… no, century!

            “Yes! Do us proud, Nellie,” and with a wave of his hand he was on to the next issue presenting itself within the newspaper’s headquarters. Nellie Bly gripped her notebook tight, holding it to her chest. What she was doing? Putting herself in danger for the sake of the story… okay, well it wasn’t exactly new. But that didn’t make it any less crazy.

            It was too late to turn back now.

            _Here goes nothing._

* * *

           

To Catch a Pirate

by

Nellie Bly

 

            In order to catch a sea king, a fisherman must have adequate bait. Something big enough and enticing enough to grab the beast’s attention. An adequate ship is also useful. Something large enough to hold its own as you find yourself staring down a predator infinitely larger than yourself.

As the beast nears you, your heart beats faster and you realize what an infinitely _stupid_ idea this was. These may very well be the last few moments of your life.

            I am not fishing for sea kings. But I am fishing for something. Sitting in a dinky little sailboat I find myself waiting for the catch. A young woman alone on a sailboat, stranded at sea in the middle of the Grand Line. It’s a risk; I’m bait to a pirate crew worth over 600,000,000 berris. Their captain, Monkey D. Luffy is worth 300,000,000 alone.

However, as with most days spent fishing, a fisherman finds themselves with plenty of time to think. My mind was questioning how to quickly earn trust enough to be allowed near the Captain. Surely not just anyone can talk to a pirate worth 300,000,000 berris.

            I was running low on hope for this catch when a ship appeared in the distance. A large brig sloop, donning the front of the ship a lion’s head surrounded by what seemed to be rays of sun. Or were they petals of a sunflower? The ship was headed in my direction and I felt that if I was going to make this believable I had to start acting soon.

Ignoring the conditioned pang of fear in my gut at the sight of a jolly roger, I put my hands into the air and waved them, “Help! Over here! Help!”

At first, I was unsure if they had heard me. The ship just got closer, I saw people near the railing but I couldn’t tell if they were talking amongst each other or they were observing the young woman apparently lost at sea.

That’s when it happened- something that would be more common than thought on board a ship with a rubber-man captain.

A hand came from the ship, or more like, an entire arm. It stretched forward and around my waist- its grip strong, firm before my body was jolted forward. I only vaguely heard the warning shouted to his crewmate, “Zoro! Catch!” before I felt my body collide with what could only be described as a giant rock.

 

The first thing that happens when you awake after you hit a rock is a throbbing pain throughout your body. The second thing that happens is you manage to take note of where you are. I realize I’m lying in a comfortable bed in what seems to be a doctor’s office.

At first I don’t see anyone around. In fact, all I notice is a small little raccoon dog, the animal gripping the side of a chair. It appears the creature is trying to hide- eyes are wide and body is shaking. However, the creature is wrong in its position, hiding only part of its face leaving its body exposed.

I remember back to the wanted posters. This creature was given the name “Chopper” – and a 50 berri bounty. No, not 50,000,000. Just 50. A miniscule fraction of the captain’s own bounty. The Marines believe this creature to be the ship’s pet. Was this where the pet usually stayed?

“Hey there little guy,” I said, trying to coax the furry creature out of ‘hiding.’

“… How… how are you feeling?” The animal… can talk? Not that this raccoon dog looks like a normal creature: blue nose, antlers, hat and pants. I try to hide my surprise. Maybe I could get more information about the strange creature if I ask?

“Better, thank you. Who might you be, raccoon dog? Is the doctor around?”

And that was my first mistake of many on this ship. Chopper’s frown deepened and he jumped from his hiding spot, “I am _not_ a raccoon dog! I’m a reindeer! A-a-and my name’s Tony Tony Chopper. _I’m_ the ship’s doctor! ”

It was not only my first mistake, but it was also my first surprise. I stared at the creature. A doctor? Did they just let the creature play doctor while the real doctor worked? My mind went to the seven other wanted posters, trying to figure out the other candidates for doctor.

My thought process didn’t get far, however, before the little creature held a stethoscope to my chest, listening, “It’s normal. Do you feel dizzy at all? Any nausea?”

I shook my head, “No, I feel fine.”

“That’s good. It seems you just bumped your head when Luffy pulled you on board, he’s so reckless sometimes,” the doctor jumped down from the step stool he had been using to reach my height, making his way over to the small desk while my mind went to work on deconstructing a simple statement.

Chopper didn’t refer to Straw Hat Luffy as “Captain,” and he spoke about him fearlessly despite the unfavorable nature of the comment. It dawned on me, the doctor is not afraid of Straw Hat Luffy- his captain. In fact, he spoke of Luffy as though he were a child with poor manners.

Before I could ask more on the subject, I heard the click of the door opening, and peaking inside was a young woman. The cat burglar, Nami. The woman’s short orange hair frames her face as she leans against the door frame, “Hey Chopper, Sanji says dinner will be ready in a half hour.”

Then she notices me, her light brown eyes- while not particularly harsh before, turn soft and kind. Warm, like the feel of the fireplace in a wooden cabin on a cold mountain. Definitely not the feeling one would expect from a pirate who has a bounty of 16,000,000 berris.

“Oh, you’re awake,” she offers a smile, “We weren’t sure if you were going to be able to join us for dinner.” She gave a small questioning glance to Chopper.

“Yeah, she can move around now. It would probably be good for her to keep awake for a while in case there are any more symptoms,” Chopper had moved back to his desk and was now scribbling furiously on a document. Nami’s attention returned to me.

“Alright. Well, we have some time to kill. How about I show you around the Sunny? You may be stuck here for a while until we can get you to wherever you need to be safely.”

“The Sunny?”

“Yeah, Thousand Sunny. That’s our ship’s name.”

“Oh! A tour sounds lovely.”

The Straw Hat Pirates are a group of dangerous pirates. Virtually undefeated in their conquests they’ve taken the Grand Line by storm- answering to no one. The World Government has labeled them as nothing less than a top threat.

And yet their ship proudly bears giant, smiling lion with what appears to be rays of sun or petals on a flower circling it as its figurehead. Lush green grass coats its deck, a swing hangs from a tree, and there’s even a slide. A small tangerine orchard, tended to by Nami, rests just by the main mast. Combined with a calm sea breeze and the sound of the ocean, the deck could easily be mistaken for paradise.

The ship bears the name “The Thousand Sunny,” A name given to a ship that will be able to cross a thousand seas with a sunny smile.

Hardly a name that shouts“top threat.”

As my foot landed on the lawn of the Thousand Sunny, I felt my heart give a little jump. I was star struck, surrounded by people with bounties well into the millions.

It wasn’t long until the four pirates on deck noticed me. An uncomfortable silence fell over the ship, my tongue tied and unable to formulate a sentence of greeting. Nami must have felt my discomfort as I soon felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Hey guys, this is-” There was a pause. I realized I had yet to give anyone my name. My mind ran fast. If I gave my real name, it would be game over.

“Ellie.”

“This is Ellie, she’s going to be on board with us for a bit until we can get her somewhere safe,” that was the second time she had mentioned my safety as a priority. I found myself wondering for not the first nor the last time: Why do these people have bounties?

Though looking at the small group that surrounded me, I could definitely see how someone would be intimidated.

None of these people were short. I use the word ‘people’ liberally here- a nine-foot tall skeleton named Brook is among the crew members. Beside him is Cyborg Franky. There is also a long nosed man who I haven’t seen on posters, though he bears a striking resemblance to Sogeking- His name, I learn, is Usopp. And beside Usopp is a woman who had a 79,000,000 bounty when she was just a child. Nico Robin offered me a smile, but I knew behind that smile was the power to kill a man a hundred times over.

Once again it had hit me just how foolish this idea had been. If the Straw Hats were half as dangerous as their bounties suggest, and half as trigger-happy as the World Government believes, I would not be around to write this.

“It’ssssss SUPER to have you on board!”  Franky thrusts his forearms up and together, the blue stars matching to create a larger blue star. I wonder about his fashion choices: Hawaiian shirt, speedo. Not much more.

But they are a warm and chipper crew though there are three Straw Hats I have yet to meet. One being Black-Leg Sanji. The other two being the ones with the highest bounties: Roronoa Zoro and the Captain, Straw Hat Luffy.

“Where is Luffy anyway? I thought you and he were going to be fishing, Usopp,” Nami’s hand went to her hip as she tilted her head.

“Ah, yeah, we were but Luffy went to apologize to Zoro for throwing someone at him again,” the man replied with a shrug. Again, I felt shock and surprise. A pirate captain apologizing to one of his crew? Well, when it’s as dangerous as Roronoa Zoro, I figured I’d apologize to just to stay on his good side- if he had one that is.

“Naaaaammmmiiiii-swannnnn! Robinnnnnnn-channnnnn! Cute girllllll-sweetttt! Dinner is readyyyyyyy!” A door had opened and there stood the blonde-haired, black-suited man.

Much more attractive in person, Sanji’s suit was surprisingly clean and wrinkle-free for a pirate on the sea. His blonde hair covers an eye and his eyebrows are impeccably groomed taking an unusual form- a spiral just above his eye. It’s strange, and yet like the turquoise shirt it suits him. Pun not intended. Robin and Nami both start towards what I can assume is the dining hall, when I hesitate I feel a hand on my back gently pressing me forward. A sly glance from Robin indicates it was something of her doing, but I am not yet sure what happened. I just know that I am now moving forward with the group.

The gentlemen follow suit, Franky and Usopp talking about something technical-Chopper’s eyes wide in amazement at the large cyborg. I notice that there’s no sign of the Pirate Hunter-turned-Pirate nor the captain.

Sanji notices it too.

“OI! SHIT SWORDSMAN! DUMBASS LUFFY! GET YOUR ASSES DOWN HERE OR YOU DON’T GET ANYTHING!”

The language was coarse, harsh towards the two strongest members of the crew. I found myself concerned: Roronoa has been described as nothing less than a demon in human form. Straw Hat Luffy was crazy enough to storm Enis Lobby and burn it to the ground. Now the famed swordsman was being called “shit” and the captain referred to as a “dumbass.”

Sanji seemed less than concerned and I followed the crew into their dining room while I held my breath for the reaction.  

“Shut up you crap cook, I hope you die,” it was said with a cranky tone, but not a terrifying tone. Like he had just woken the swordsman from a nap. But there was no denying this man was the legendary pirate hunter: three swords rested at his hip, bright green hair cut short, a scowl was worn on his face as he took a seat at the green, beautifully set table.

Roronoa Zoro is a frightening man. That’s what I was told, that’s what I believed. He would cut into anyone mercilessly and without prejudice. He is an impressive sight. Over six feet of pure muscle, a terrifying frown forever on his face. And yet as he settled at the table, the small reindeer trotted up to him, taking the seat beside him.

“Are you feeling okay Zoro? You took off your bandages again! I told you to keep them on!”

“And I told you I can’t move with them,” it was a grumbled response, but he let the doctor tenderly fuss over him.

“That’s what keeps you from opening your wounds again! How thick can you be?”

“Oh shaddup,” and here the swordsman. The feared swordsman. Was reduced to the role of pouting teenage boy being fussed over by mother. His bottom lip jutted out in a pout and his arms crossed.

The crew arranged themselves around the long table. Honestly, the food looked and smelled like nothing I had ever had the honor of being around before. The catch of the day in a tangerine sauce with fresh vegetables on the side and a soup. The plates arranged so tenderly you didn’t want to eat it and destroy the artistry.

Then, like a wrecking ball through a brick wall, a voice cried out, “FOOOOOOD! Sanji! I’m starving!”

The boy bounced into the room. And just like the shot at the start of a race, the noise level in the dining room rose exponentially. Luffy’s smile bright, there was a glint in his eyes as he stretched his arms for the food, nearly forgetting his own food on his plate. His hair messy, framing his round, boyish face.

He is a child born of wild wonders and fierce desires. His body is slim, weak looking compared to his muscled swordsman and his mechanical cyborg. He is the captain of this ship, yet his crew speaks to him as though he were a child.

Yet the air in the room is unmistakable.

They are a crew. Their captain is Monkey D. Luffy. And even though I have just met them, even though I know little about them but what I have read and heard, I know that each and every member of this crew would sacrifice themselves if it meant the other’s survival.

I wasn’t eating dinner with a pirate captain and his crew. I wasn’t eating dinner with a friend among friends. I was eating dinner with a large, warm family that had graciously accepted me into their home.


	2. The Deconstruction of Success

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A late-night snack and a toaster.

The Deconstruction of Success

by

Nellie Bly

 

There is something fundamental about this crew but I can’t quite figure out what. I feel it in the air as the dining room is filled with laughter, shouts, and chatting. The energy is infectious and flowing. No one in this room is afraid of being one-hundred percent themself.

I had introduced myself to Luffy between his mouthfuls of food, and he had managed to introduce himself back to me. He seemed too focused on his food to really respond to any of my questions so I decided to hold them until a later time. My eyes scan the room, observing the eight other Straw Hat Pirates.

A most unusual pirate catches my eye. The ship’s musician, one without a poster that I’ve seen yet, is a tall skeleton of a man. And when I say “skeleton” I mean that literally.

Even sitting at a table in a loud dining room you can hear the musical tone of his voice, “This food warms my stomach… oh wait, I don’t have a stomach! Yohoho! Skull joke!” The musician is able to eat just as much as anyone else despite the truth in his own observation. Brook doesn’t have a stomach, or a heart, or lungs, or even skin. Yet no one on the crew looks at him any differently.

He is sitting near me and with a straight back and a gentlemanly position he speaks, “Pardon me Miss, but would you mind showing me your panties?”

My breath catches as my mind tries to gather what was just said. Did a skeleton really just ask to see my underwear? How does one even respond to something like that?

Before I can say anything though, a blue metal pole comes down hard on the skeleton’s head, “Brook! STOP BEING GROSS.”

Nami had come to my rescue. The hit enough to get the skeleton to stop focusing on me and start whining. “It’s such a cruel world… my heart is shattered- or it would be, if I had one! Yohohoho!”

“Hey, what’s with the girl?” a displeased voice broke through the insanity and I glance over. Roronoa Zoro’s cold gaze has locked onto me. I find it hard to move, fear gripping my body.  

“She’s the girl that Luffy hit you with,” Usopp said through his own forkfuls.

“She’s going to be staying with us until we get to the next island,” Nami explains, “If that’s okay with our dear Captain.”

It was the first time I had heard anyone on the ship refer to Luffy as ‘captain’ and for a moment I’m worried. What would I do if Luffy said no? It was a meaningless worry, however, as the pirate looks up from his food and nods, “Fine with me,” and he immediately resumes eating.

Zoro’s eyes are narrowed at me as though he’s sizing me up. I feel my heart catch, everything else still frozen- he’s attractive, yes, but terrifying most of all. But after Luffy’s words he shrugs and goes back to his food. I feel as though I just avoided the hungry gaze of a predator- lucky to have survived just that moment.

After dinner, Nami told me I would have free reign of the ship. I was given a set of four numbers, “You don’t seem like the garbage disposal our captain is, so this is the code for the fridge. Only a few of us know it in an effort to keep Luffy from eating everything.”

I was to use Robin’s bed, Nami assuring me that I wouldn’t be overstepping any boundaries by doing so. Robin usually didn’t sleep at night anyway, at least not in their room. She was often reading in the library. A book a night, Robin would tell me later with a smile. Bookworm was not a trait I would have guessed for the quiet, sexy, dangerous woman.

In fact, at first glance, Robin appears to be the most ‘normal.’ Quiet in the dining hall, polite as she ate, cordial to me. She is calm, a stark contrast to nearly everyone else on this increasingly wacky crew.

I make my way through the hull of the ship, looking into the rooms. One has a giant banner that says “Usopp Factory” and it contains a chalkboard, paints of varying colors, and scraps of many shapes and sizes. It appears to be the workshop of an inventor.

I hear a peculiar noise coming from the next room. It sounded like someone was training. More like… two people were training. As I near out of curiosity, the grunts get louder. I hear a woman’s voice gasping the name of one of the male members of the crew.

With a quick turn I’m leaving the room as far behind as possible. The cyborg and Robin. Suddenly, it made sense why Robin didn’t spend much time in her own room. I didn’t doubt she also spent her time studying, but it seemed she was doing some hands-on learning at this time.

I find myself retreating to the kitchen where I see Usopp sitting at the bar, a pencil in his hand as he’s hunched over what seems to be a sketch book. I make my way closer to him, craning my neck to see what he’s drawing.

It’s a beautiful portrait. A young, blonde woman in a window. A tree branch just outside, parallel to the window sill. She’s smiling, happy as she stares at the viewer, “Who is she?” I say.

The pirate jumps, nearly dropping his pencil before turning his head quick to me. I feel bad for surprising him- not quite used to the idea that someone like me could be so shocking to someone on Monkey D. Luffy’s crew. But he recovers with a smile.

“She’s a close friend from my hometown. I used to tell her stories about my grand adventures as Captain Usopp!”

“You were a captain before?” I ask, I don’t remember seeing anyone like him on any wanted posters.

“Of course! I was Captain of the Usopp pirates on my home island. I commanded over eight thousand men!” Catching onto his tall tale I just smile.

“Impressive. That’s more than Luffy’s crew,” I say.

“Yeah. Luffy’s not bad for a newbie,” he continues before his stomach grumbles. He gets up and heads to the kitchen counters before he points to a loaf of bread sitting near what seems to be just a simple, older toaster, “Hey, do you want any toast?” he asks. I realize that Sanji probably keeps out a loaf of bread like this for the times those that don’t know the combination are hungry. That would explain why the toaster looks older- its destruction would not spell tragedy for many other than the appliance itself.

“Sure,” I say. I hear the click of the toaster setting and Usopp returns to the bar.

“I have other drawings in there if you want to take a look,” he offers and I realize I must be staring at the sketch. I carefully take the book and flip through. Each page has a different drawing, some so fantastical I can only imagine that either Usopp has that big of an imagination- which I wouldn’t put it past him- or these are sketches based on their adventures.

There are drawings of all of the Straw Hats on a beach surrounded by clouds, there’s one with them all in a haunted graveyard, there’s one with them among giants and dinosaurs and one where they’re riding what seem to be ducks.

Before I can say anything more though, the door opens and in walks one of the most famous members of the crew. His scowl still permanently affixed to his face, his swords still on his hip as he yawns, grabbing a bottle of booze from one of the kitchen cabinets and sitting on one of the chairs next to me. He takes a drink and looks at the sketchbook.

“Lookin’ at Usopp’s drawings? They’re pretty good, aren’t they?” He said in such a calm, non-demonic tone.

“Y-yeah, he’s really talented,” I say. I notice Usopp become flustered with a grin.

“Well of course they’re good! I’m the famed artist Usopp after all! Hahahahaha-”

“Stop being weird, Usopp,” Zoro takes another drink and Usopp heeds his… warning? It wasn’t so much a warning as it was a statement. Like an adult giving advice to a child. He starts to lift the bottle to his lips again when something happens I never dreamed I would see in my life.

The toast pops and the demon in human form with a bounty of 120,000,000 berris, Roronoa Zoro, jumps about ten meters into the air- booze spilling down his shirt.

 “The Hell, Usopp?! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” He snaps. Usopp just stares a moment at Zoro before bursting into laughter, doubling over. I too find laughter too difficult to hold in as I cover my mouth and turn away, “You both suck. I hope you know that. Dammit, I spilled my drink….”

“Hey, don’t worry Zoro, I’ll protect you from the evil toaster. Just leave everything up to Usopp,” the long-nosed man is having trouble getting the plates out, his body shaking as he continues to laugh. Eventually he manages to get each piece of toast onto its own respective plate. I say a “thanks” as he puts one in front of me.

“I’m never saving your ass again, Usopp,” Zoro grumbles.

“It’s a good thing we haven’t fought any giant toasters yet. You’d be completely useless,” Usopp continues, laughing even harder.

Zoro’s glare narrows and for a moment I feel concern for the laughing man in front of me. Thankfully, before anything can happen, the door opens again and in walks the young, orange-haired woman.

“What’s so funny? I heard you guys laughing out on the deck,” Nami takes a seat as well, looking at the furious Zoro and then back at Usopp.

“Nami, it was hilarious, I was making toast and it popped and Zoro nearly hit the ceiling!”

“Did not! I was just a little startled, that’s all.”

Nami ignored Zoro and grinned, “Oh, yeah. That freaks him out every time.”

The silence that fell over the room was deafening before Usopp roared with laughter once more, “ _Every_ time? Like this happens _often_?!”

Zoro’s frown turns into even more of a pout as he looks away, cheeks slightly red,  almost… embarrassed? He grips the drink tightly in his hand, “I just don’t like things that pop like that,” and he puts the bottle in his mouth like a baby with milk.

Yes. The feared pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro is afraid of a toaster. The room quiets to a near silence except for our giggling before Zoro’s glare locks on to Nami.

“Instead of laughing at me like that you could open the fridge for me so I can get some damn ice cream,” he grumbles.

Nami stops laughing only to sigh, “Sanji wouldn’t be happy if he found out you took the ice cream.”

“Yeah?”

“Good point,” she says before standing up, “What kind do you want?”

“Whatever goes with sake,” he replies as the refrigerator is unlocked and she looks into the freezer.

“We have chocolate, vanilla, and… tiramisu.”

“Ew, why the hell would he get tiramisu ice cream?” Zoro’s nose scrunches.

“Probably because people with less sophisticated taste buds like you and Luffy won’t touch it,” Nami shrugs, “I know he likes it.”

“Then I’ll take that. No bowl, Nami, just give me the carton. He’s gonna learn who the sophisticated one around here is.”

“This sounds like it can’t possibly go wrong,” She hands him the carton and he grabs himself a spoon. He settles back down and opens the ice cream. It looks near new; only a small scoop has been taken.

“You’re going to eat the whole thing? You _hate_ tiramisu ice cream,” Nami’s hand goes onto her hip as the demon of a man glares down iced sugar milk.

“Yeah, but I hate Sanji more,” the spoon in his hand, he dug deep into the near gallon of light-brown ice cream.

“Do you though?” Nami’s expression was flat as she looked to her crewmate. Zoro put the large, heaping scoop into his mouth- gagging nearly as soon as he did so.

“Fu----“ ice cream unceremoniously seeps out of the corners of his mouth and drips down his chin, small drops landing on his white shirt- adding to the booze that had been spilled there earlier. He manages to swallow the mouthful, coughing afterwards with a grimace.

Nami rolls her eyes, completely done with the swordsman in front of her. Usopp had long since given up on speaking- the long-nosed man in a constant state of laughter as the scene unfolds. I see tears rolling down his cheeks as his arms are crossed on a counter, his head buried in them. His entire body is shaking and I’m not entirely sure if he can breathe, but if one were to go this would be the way to do it.

I can vaguely hear him whimpering a question in a voice much higher than I heard from him before, “This damn crew. What am I doing with my life?”

Zoro is still gagging from the ice cream and Nami’s head is in the palm of her hand as her eyes are closed tight. She’s shaking too, but it seems like a very different emotion than Usopp’s. She does, however, seem to be sharing the same sentiment, “Zoro you are such a drama queen, it’s not that bad.”

“How would you fucking know?”

“It’s ice cream, Zoro, everyone fucking knows.”

“Ice cream my ass. More like hell in a cardboard carton,” and he looks to the alcohol in his hand and then at the carton. Wheels are turning but I’m not quite sure if I’ve interpreted them correctly. I’ve learned so far that this crew hardly thinks conventionally- Zoro increasingly becoming the one of the least conventional of them all.

“Zoro, no,” Nami warns.

“Fuck Sanji,” he says and pours sake into the ice cream before taking another spoonful. He gags once more, this time with greater severity, but still manages to swallow, “nope, didn’t help. I don’t want it anymore.”

With hasty hands he puts the top back on and holds out the carton for Nami to take. The sake creating a clear layer on top of the ice cream, two new spoonfuls missing. Zoro wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. Nami sighs heavily as she puts it back, “I told you. Now Sanji’s going to be so pissed.”

(He was. The next day will have Sanji storming onto the grass deck of the Thousand Sunny, “Who the HELL put SAKE in my ice cream?!”

The glare towards Zoro showed he knew the answer already.

“Nami,” Zoro responds. The girl blinks at her name being said, looking at the both of them before shaking her head.

“You shitty lying shit sack of shit! WHO THE HELL PUTS SAKE IN ICE CREAM?”

“You do all the damn time! Why can’t I?”

“I’m a CHEF. The last time _you_ tried to make something you nearly burned down the Sunny!”

“I was just creating a visual representation of your love life….”)

The room quiets again and I realize that as a reporter I had been neglecting to take advantage of the situation. Here were three of the Straw Hat Pirates, the situation calm, relaxed (well, now at least). It was time to do some investigating.

“So, when did you guys join the crew?” I leaned forward onto the bar resting my head on my fists- the plate in front of me that once held toast now just holding crumbs.

“Actually,” Usopp glanced at Nami and Zoro. The three seemed to share the same thought at the same time.

“We were the first three to join. I was first, then Nami, and then Usopp.”

“Technically I only officially ‘joined’ after Sanji,” Nami pointed out, “Before then I wanted nothing to do with you pirates.”

“I didn’t want anything to do with pirates either,” Zoro leaned back, crossing his arms. The action enough to catch my attention as the sleeves on his white shirt beautifully highlights the swordsman’s unbeatable biceps.  But I managed to regain my focus as his words brought up another question from me.

“Yeah, how did that happen? Weren’t you a bounty hunter?”

His brows twitch in irritation, but for some reason I’m not afraid anymore. Perhaps I’ve become comfortable around these people already? Perhaps there’s a part of me that understands that Roronoa Zoro isn’t quite the monster he’s made out to be?

“I’ve never called myself a bounty hunter. I was just hungry okay? All I had to do was catch a few guys and I got money so I could have a drink. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I just somehow ended up on this ship with a rubber captain.”

“It still seems like quite the career change,” I comment.

“Luffy wouldn’t let me say no,” he shrugged, “It was become a pirate or be killed by some marine captain’s spoiled son. I wasn’t going to let some pompous ass in a purple suit be the one to kill me.”

“At least Luffy doesn’t really seem quite… pirate captain,” I push a little bit. The three exchange another glance.

Nami leans against the now-locked fridge, “He’s not the typical pirate that’s for sure. Power doesn’t interest him, gold is second to food- and the only reason he ever seems to want gold is for more food- he’s never cruel, and he’s never hurt anyone for the sake of it. We’re his crew but most of us have a better understanding of what’s going on than he does. He doesn’t actually have any survival skills for the sea. I don’t think he even knows how to read a map.”

“It sounds like he’s not the sharpest tool,” there is a shift among those in the room. Maybe it was only okay when one of them said it? But my next question remained the same, “Why follow him then?”

“Simple answer? He’s our friend and he has a dream he needs us for,” Usopp shrugged, now able to actually stand.  

Nami explains further the simple answer, “None of us would be alive right now if he hadn’t risked everything for us. That goes for everyone on this crew. We all owe him our lives- but it’s not something he ever holds over us. I don’t even think he realizes just how much he’s saved us. All he ever wanted is to be our friend and for us to be happy. That’s why we follow him.”

It’s a simple concept that’s been the core of fables, folktales, and parables since the beginning of time. There have been countless who preach about friendship and the importance it holds in one’s life alongside themes of self-sacrifice and generosity.

It is also what I learn and begin to admire about the Straw Hat Pirates. The very core of their existence and what I learn to be the very core of Straw Hat Luffy’s being.

A strong, unbreakable bond of friendship that goes beyond anything one can ever imagine.

It’s pure and it’s raw, with nothing expected in return. What’s more, it’s infectious.

I see it in the three notorious pirates I had a late-night snack with in the kitchen of their ship built with love by one of their own. The bond that can never be broken. An unconditional love.

I have discovered the secret behind the Straw Hat Pirate’s power and success.

It can be stretched and bent but it can never be destroyed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The toaster scenario was inspired by tumblr users hundredsunny (http://hundredsunny.tumblr.com/post/116870940135/just-imagine-the-demon-of-the-east-blue-roronoa) and alpha-torao (http://alpha-torao.tumblr.com/post/117005624402/hundredsunny-just-imagine-the-demon-of-the).  
> Sorry for any errors/mistakes/it being mush. But I had fun writing it haha.

**Author's Note:**

> Haha yes. I did name the girl after the famous explorer Nellie Bly. If you haven't read about her, do it. She's amazing.  
> I'm not sure if I'm going to write more of this or not. If people like it I may.


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